It Really Isn't What It Looks Like
by GothicPuppy
Summary: Izaya was always able to slip out of situations little less than desired, but this time he just couldn't. Now he's in a situation that he has no idea how to handle and he isn't very happy. Really.
The dynamic between the two of them was still relatively new, they were no longer enemies but they were definitely not friends either. There was a closeness that had arose between them after the forced upon truce among them. Had it not been for the young granddaughter of the head of the Awakusu, and the friendly partnership with Shiki, this bizarre development between them would have never happened. Akane was so very young and easily manipulate, but she was very aware of the world around her once she became aware of the influence her own family had on her life. It was because of this that Izaya first approached her and implanted the idea in her head to kill Heiwajima Shizuo.

Never in a million years would Izaya imagine himself calming sitting across the table from none other than the monster of Ikebukuro. But here he was, in a small oriented café inside a burgundy colored booth with Akabayashi on his left and Akane next to Shizuo eating a large parfait while the blonde ate a strawberry shortcake. They made a rather odd looking group but it was fault of none other than Akane. She wanted to spend the day with Shizuo-onii, and Izaya-san since they were the "best of friends." Truly, it was all of the blonde's fault, had he not gritted out through his clenched teeth to the young girl that they were the best of friends and that they were playing, this entire thing could have been avoided.

Instead they had to lie to a 10-year-old girl who enjoyed spending time with Shizuo more so than himself, she was still warry of him. Taking a sip of his hot black coffee he glanced at the blonde in front of him, he seemed calmer now as he ate his treat. A site he never took the pleasure in seeing before, he hardly ever saw it back in high school a time he considered to be they were the most "close." They did tend to see each other a lot more, but for obvious reasons he hardly ever had sat down and ate lunches with the blonde and their annoying friend they couldn't get rid of. Not that Izaya himself ever tried to drift away from Shinra, he was a special human that spoke moments of clarity that mirrored his happy go lucky personality. He always seemed to know more than he let on and that kept Izaya interested, because how much did he really know?

Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice he was staring at Shizuo until a sharp glare was thrown at him, making him smirk his coy smile that seemed to piss off the monster more than anything. What he received in return was a snort and a roll of the eyes breaking the eye contact they held, allowing a seed of irritation to arise in Izaya. Moments like these confused the info broker more than anything, the blonde was so unpredictable. And he _hated_ that. Though Izaya considered himself to be that of higher caliber than that of the average human, nearly god-like to be precise, but for every god there were flaws added to the mix. Each god, whether it be monotheistic or polytheistic, had very human like qualities, like Zeus with his promiscuous personality impregnating women from left to right, or with Odin and his heroic courage to charge into battle blindly. Every god, and he meant every god, was based off a human quality and magnified to the extreme. His flaw unfortunately was routine, he was a person that enjoyed planning and expecting everything to go accordingly. This was why he enjoyed humans so much they were creatures of routine, and if anything ruined his pristine routine he grew irritated. This change in behavior between them both angered him and elated him, it broke their routine, they were no longer enemies, and he found himself almost, _almost_ enjoying that. And he _hated_ that even more, he hates change. Changes bring uncertainty, it brings new and untouched waters, it brought the unexpected. Something he can't plan and predict.

"Izaya-san?" A small timid voice spoke quietly looking down at her spoon and back up at him innocently, breaking the raven from his train a thought.

'Yes Akane-chan? Did you want something else to eat? I did say I would treat you to anything you want to eat." Izaya said pleasantly as he smirked down at her ignoring the snort that came from the blonde across form him.

"No," Akane shook her head gently, "That's not it… I wanted to ask you something…" She trailed off taking another spoonful of her parfait.

"What do you wish to know then?" He asked his curiosity peaked.

"Well… you said before you enjoy humans, and I think that means you know a lot about different types of people right? Well there is this new transfer student in my class! She's American and I've never seen someone like her, she short like me but her hair his _so_ curly and a light brown! And her nose is a bit big but small too? And she―"

"You're rambling again Akane-chan" Akabayashi chuckled as he reached over to pat her head, calming her down.

"Sorry…" She mumbled quietly a small pout forming on her lips before she looked up again to face the info broker. "She's really nice and she has become my new friend and doesn't care that some of my family can be scary! But she's confused about our customs… Like addressing by our family names and the suffixes and things like that. But she more confused on how we interact with each other. She likes to hug people a lot, and she's told me before that she did that a lot with her friends back home, whether they are a boy or a girl. She did admit she hugs "more than normal," but she finds it weird that hardly anyone hugs. Even in public she thinks it's really weird. Why are we like that? Is it wrong to hug our friends "more than normal?" Why do Americans and other countries like to hug as a greeting or a parting action? Why do we see it as a very huge deal for couples to hold hands in shougo manga?" She said quickly and closed her mouth her face a little red as she finally took a breath.

Izaya sat back and laughed holding his stomach before calming down and rubbed his eyes from tears of mirth, "Well aren't you quiet the observationist?" He teased easily before tapping his lips in thought. "This is a bit difficult to answer, but it does come down to customs. For Americans, and some European and Latin countries, they chose to show their affections in a more expressive manner. Their level of intimacy is different than the Japanese, we show affection in small gestures but the hugs and kisses are more hidden and private. When a relationship reaches that point the level of intimacy is different. And there are different forms between friends, family and lovers. Do you see? Your friend is just more expressive than say you or me." He said as he leaned back and took a sip of his coffee.

"Does it change if it were boys who are friends and girls who are friends?" She asked her undivided attention on Izaya.

"…No I don't believe it does, humans are strange in that matter. When humans reach a certain intimacy in a relationship, things can change and they can show affection in different ways." He said easily raising a brow at the twinkling like sparkle Akane had in her eyes.

"So does that mean its ok for me to hug Maya-chan and all my other friends as much as I want?" She asked excitedly.

"If that's what you're comfortable with…" Izaya said shrugging, having trickling feeling that something else was on the girl's mind.

"Does that mean you and Shizuo-onii, hug a lot too since you guys are so close? Just not in public because it's "weird?" She asked innocently, leaving Izaya speechless.

Opening and closing his mouth once and furrowing his brows when he realized Akabayashi was chuckling to himself. Of course the older man knew this entire friendship was façade, and he found this entirely hilarious.

"Well?" Akane asked impatiently a pout forming on her lips again.

"Ahh, sometimes…" He muttered uncertainly unwilling to glance at the blonde, knowing he'd receive nothing but anger in return.

"Maya-chan says she used to sometimes kiss her friends on their cheeks too… Usually girls, so does that mean between boys its ok too right, and girl and boy? Do you guys do that?" She asked looking at Izaya and back at Shizuo who had already broken the fork in his hand.

"Ah…"

"No we don't do that." Shizuo said pushing his glassed up his nose as he stared down at Akane smiling softly.

"But its ok if I do it with Maya-chan right?" She asked uncertainly, "I want her to feel welcomed here…and bring as much as her home here…" She said softly looking down at her lap.

"Of course its ok." Shizuo said softly patting her head and smiled when she glanced back up at him, getting a blinding smile in return.

"Ok! You guys can hug in front of me! I won't think it's weird or anything since you guys are such good friends!" Akane said jumping and smiling brightly again as she looked form Shizuo to Izaya happily.

Akabayashi soon burst into laughter nearly choking on his cappuccino as he looked between Izaya and Shizuo opening his mouth before closing it and laughing again. Akane only pouted in frustration.

"Oji-san! It's not that funny they are good friends! Even Izaya-san said its ok to hug with friends like Maya-chan does!" She whined as she shoveled her final scoop of ice cream into her mouth.

"I know, I know, calm down." Akabayashi said grinning widely as he patted her head affectionately. "Your such an understanding girl." He said teasingly taking a glance at the blonde and the info broker next to him.

Izaya hadn't moved an inch since the declaration Akane had made, his brain was still trying to comprehend it. _Hug_ Shizuo? Hug _Shizuo_?! There was no way in hell was he ever going to put his arms around that monster, they were no-where near that level. Nor will they ever come near that point! Him hugging a monster? It was simply unfathomable.

"Akane-chan…why don't we go to the aquarium…. They redesigned the Jellyfish area." Shizuo suggested after clearing his throat. Izaya snapped his gaze back to the blonde noticing that he wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Oh I love Jellyfish! They're so pretty! Let's go! Let's go!" She said excitedly as she got out of the booth dragging Shizuo behind her.

"I want to see the sharks exhibit too, they got a new one recently." Akabayashi hummed as he slipped out of the booth following leisurely behind them.

Grabbing the check left on the table Izaya went to pay for the food at the register. An inkling set of dread settled into his stomach, twisting it into nervous swirls. There was something in the way that Shizuo wouldn't meet his gaze that left him unsettled. He truly hated change.

The group of four reached the aquarium half an hour later, and Akane was more than excited constantly tugging on Shizuo's arm or Akabayashi's as they looked at different exhibits. When it came to the Jellyfish Akane was silent with awe. The remolding of the room was grand it was much larger and everything was under a fluorescent black light. The walls were aligned with large circular windows that stretched from the very top to the very bottom of the walls each of which carrying a different species as well as indented. Izaya found himself in front of one of the large indented windows putting his hand against one of the jellyfish that floated to the window. It was nearly a dark pink in some areas and lighter around the cap of the animal. Its string like appendages floated carelessly under it and was much larger than Izaya had seen before. Its appendages were much longer than his own arm and they swiftly drifted in the water and soon enough it was joined by many more jellyfish much smaller than the one his hand was pressed against. There was even a small one, smaller than his finger that pressed itself against the glass. Izaya easily pressed his finger against it, curious about the texture of the creature but aware of the danger in touching one.

"So even you know how to appreciate beauty." Came a gruff reply.

"Of course I do, I do it every day when observing my precious humans Shizu-chan." Izaya said coyly as a smirk spread across face.

"That wasn't what I meant and you know that." Shizuo said pushing his glasses up once again and easily slipped his hands into his pockets.

"And how would a monster know how to appreciate beauty?" Izaya asked mockingly as he stepped away from the tank, coming closer to the blonde.

"Your more of a monster than I am." Shizuo snorted as he tilted his head down to stare down at him.

"Ahh, you wound me Shizu-chan! I'm a god amongst humans." He said eloquently lifting his arms slightly hands still in his parka.

"Even a god is still human, just how monsters are on the inside too…" Shizuo said quietly before walking away the moment when Akane called for him.

"Unpredictable as always." Izaya muttered to himself as he let his shoulders sag, a puff of air slip past his lips in annoyance, and he soon fell in step with the group. It was moments like these that he hated the most, Shizuo said and did unpredictable things and his interest in him only grew more. The problem now was he was becoming more aware of it each passing day.

It was late at night when the group finally exited the aquarium, and Akane was holding Akabayashi's hand as she hummed to herself looking at the new pink jellyfish with a bow phone chain she got at the gift shop. Shizuo was sucking on a lollipop opting to not smoke in front of the young girl, and Izaya himself was fiddling with his own jellyfish chain that Akane insisted they all get each a different color, his happened to be a burgundy color with some little pink microphones on its head. Once they reached a local park in the area with a limo parked at the other side did their night come to an end.

"Izaya-san, Shizuo-onii thank you for taking me out today! I had a lot of fun!" She said excitedly as she rushed to the blonde and hugged his hips getting a pat on the head in return. She hesitantly walked over to Izaya before also wrapping her arms around his middle squeezing him almost too tight.

"Thank you too Izaya-san." She said quietly conveying more than he expected. Unsure of what to do to he merely patted her on the head and hummed quietly. When she let go she was beaming, so he assumed it was the right thing to do.

"Ok! Now go hug Shizuo-onii! You guys should properly say goodbye like friends do!" She said innocently enough smiling at both of them making Izaya freeze in place again.

"I don't thin―" Izaya started ignoring how his hearted started to race as fast as it did when Shizuo chased him around the city.

"No! Its ok! It's just me! I won't think it's weird since I know you guys are good friends." She said smiling up at them both.

Izaya opened and closed his mouth again ignoring the chuckling he heard from Akabayashi. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Shizuo clear his throat next to him.

"We don't really hug much Akane-chan." Shizuo said as he leaned a bit down so he wouldn't tower over her as much.

"That's ok, you guys can hug in front of me from now on!" She said excitedly her eyes twinkling innocently.

Izaya heard Shizuo mutter a small 'fine,' to the girl before stood up straight and glanced at Izaya. He looked mildly annoyed but after another sigh he wrapped his arm around Izaya's shoulder and tugged him closer to his side. Izaya immediately stiffened and his eyes widened but before he could do anything it was quickly over. He glanced down at Akane in an attempt to ignore the racing of his heart, and let confusing over take any other emotion as he took in Akane's annoyed pout.

"That wasn't even a hug! You guys need to really hug like how me and Maya-chan do, both of you need to wrap your arms around each other!" She huffed as she motioning with her arms around her, her cell phone in her hand as the jellyfish jumped up and down.

Izaya forced a small chuckle biting the inside of his cheek, "Yes, yes. We'll hug like how you and Maya-chan do." He said silkily as he turned around to face the blonde beside him, finally taking a glance at him and noticing he was just as uncomfortable as him.

How were they supposed to hug? Does Izaya wrap his arms over the blonde's shoulder or under? Is it under since he's taller than him? How do you hug someone? The info broker doesn't even remember how to hug; he hasn't hugged anyone since his little sister were very small. He swallowed deeply when Shizuo took a step closer to him, he hesitantly raised his arms and slowly wrapped them around the ex-bartender's chest. The blonde's soon followed by wrapping around his shoulders and pulling him in slightly as his left cheek gently pressed into his chest. He stood deathly still, fearing if he moved that the blonde would be able to detected the rapid beating of his heart, the blood was rushing to his ears as he heard every pulse, and just like that it was over. Shizuo quickly stepped away from him and Izaya did as well unable to look in Shizuo's direction, only now registering how incredibly warm his face felt now.

"There we go we hugged like you and Maya-chan do." Izaya said quickly as he put a hand to his face to clear his throat and get a hold of his emotions. Too much was happening and he wasn't sure what it even meant. When he glanced down at Akane, she was once again pouting.

"But you guys didn't kiss each other cheeks like we do." She whined a little staring at both accusingly.

"Akane-chan you and Maya-chan are much closer than me and Shiu-chan and it would be different right Shizu―" Izaya rambled turning his side to face the blonde only to be met with a light pressure on his lips, his eyes widening drastically. He was much closer to Shizuo than he ever thought he would and he was frozen in place heat rushing up to his face and, Shizuo's expression was just as surprised as his and he nearly losing his balance cause him to apply more pressure into the small kiss, and just like that it was gone and Shizuo was walking away very fast in the other direction.

Izaya with eyes still wide touched his trembling lips softly and just as quickly rushed the other direction his face blazing. What was that? What just _happened_? That wasn't even supposed to happen it was bad enough that he was hugged but now he was _kissed_?! By Shizuo no less! He managed to hide into one of the alley ways and threw his hood over his face as he pressed his palms to his face hating the incredible warmth he received in return. That shouldn't have happened, that really shouldn't have happened. Never in a million years. He let out a small whimper, he really hates change. Change brings unexplored areas, uncertainty, confusion. Too much confusion.

 _God why did he like it?_

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Akane giggled to herself as she flipped through the pictures she secretly took of Izaya-san and Shizuo-onii when they weren't looking. She got a good angle of them hugging each other managing to get the embarrassed expression on the blonde's face. She giggled more when she flipped to the last photo of them kissing, both looked shocked and embarrassed but it was perfect. So very perfect. She smiled widely as she quickly texted the photos quickly to her best friend Maya-chan.

"Just who are you texting that's got you excited Akane-chan?" Akabayashi asked curiously.

"I'm texting Maya-chan!" She said happily bouncing her seat as the limo drove them home.

"Maya-chan?" Akabayashi hummed to himself hand curling around his chin in thought. The name sounded familiar…. "Ahh, is that Karisawa-san niece? That Maya-chan?" He asked again.

Akane merely smiled.

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 **So I made Akane a little shit xD and ya ya I know Erika doesn't have a niece but i can dream ok D: hope you enjoyed!**


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